How Rubella leads to Congenital Defects
As one knows, accidental discoveries in science are quite common. But discoveries through uncanny coincidence are rare. The discovery that the disease of rubella in pregnant women can cause congenital defects in babies is one such discovery.
Sir Norman Gregg, who made his discovery, was an Australian Opthomologist. Till he made the discovery, rubella was not considered a very serious disease in the medical profession. One day a woman came to consult her for her baby who had congenital cataract. She asked him, if this could be because of rubella, which she had in early pregnancy. When Gregg said that he did not think so, the mother told him that there was another woman in the waiting room outside, whose baby had the same disease, and who had also suffered from rubella during her pregnancy. Sir Gregg found this coincidence quite meaningful, and on searching through his old records he found many similar cases among his earlier patients.
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